CONGRESS. (THE WAR REVENUE LAW.) 



171 



and the issue of silver certificates in anticipation of 

 such coinage, was incorporated in the bill. The last 

 amendment brought on a renewal of the well-worn 

 controversy as to gold and silver. It would be use- 

 less to reproduce the discussion on any of these 

 themes, each one of which has been so often the 

 matter directly at issue, and is likely to become so 

 sixain ; and it is enough to say that the division of 

 the Senate over the measure was on a sharply drawn 

 line between the policy of increasing the revenue 

 moderately and borrowing heavily on 3-pcr-cent. 

 bonds, and the policy of increasing the revenue 

 heavily and supplying deficiencies by coinage of 

 silver and the issue of notes not bearing interest. 

 The measure passed the senate, June 4, by the fol- 

 lowing vote : 



YEAS Aldrich, Allison. Baker, Burrows, Caffery, 

 arter, Chandler, Clark, Davis, Deboe, Elkins, Fair- 

 inks, Foraker. Frye, Gallinger, Gear, Gorman, 

 ale, Hanna, Hansbrough, Huwley, Hoar, Kyle, 

 indsay. Lodge, McBricle, McEnery, McMillan, 

 Mantle, Mason, Mitchell, Morrill, Murphy, Nelson, 

 Perkins, Platt of Connecticut, Platt of New York, 

 Pritchard, Sewell, Shoup, Spooner, Thurston, Tur- 

 pie, Warren, Wellington, Wetmore, Wilson, Wol- 

 cott 48. 



NAYS Allen. Bacon, Bate, Berry, Butler, Can- 

 non, Chilton, Clay, Cockrell, Daniel, Harris. Heit- 

 feld, Jones of Arkansas, Jones of Nevada, McLau- 

 in, Mallory, Martin, Money, Pasco, Pettigrew, 

 'ettus, Rawlins, Roach. Stewart, Sullivan, Till- 

 an, Turley, White 28. 



NOT VOTING Cullom, Faulkner. Gray, Kenney, 

 ills, Morgan, Penrose, Proctor, Quay, Smith, 

 ellei', Turner, Vest 13. 



The House of Representatives non-concurred in 

 ;he Senate amendments, and a conference com- 

 mittee was appointed which made a compromise 

 report, in which the amendments specially noted 

 above were accepted with qualifications. The pro- 

 vision as to issuing silver certificates was struck 

 out of the amendment for coining the silver 

 seigniorage, and it was enacted that the silver 

 ullion in the Treasury should be coined at the 

 ,te of not less than $1^500,000 a month. The bill 

 ,s shaped by the conference committee was ac- 

 cepted by both Houses, and was approved by the 

 President, June 13, 1898. 

 The text of the measure is as follows : 

 " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 

 resentatives of the United States of America in 

 Congress assembled, That there shall be paid, in 

 lieu of the tax of one dollar now imposed by law, a 

 tax of two dollars on all beer, lager beer, ale, porter, 

 and other similar fermented liquors, brewed or 

 manufactured and sold, or stored in warehouse, or 

 removed for consumption or sale, within the United 

 States, by whatever name such liquors may be 

 called, for every barrel containing not more than 

 thirty-one gallons; and at a like rate for any other 

 quantity or for the fractional parts of a barrel au- 

 thorized and defined by law. And section thirty- 

 three hundred and thirty-nine of the Revised Stat- 

 utes is hereby amended accordingly : Provided, 

 That a discount of seven and one half per centum 

 shall be allowed upon all sales by collectors to 

 brewers of the stamps provided for the payment of 

 said tax : Provided further, That the additional 

 tax imposed in this section on all fermented liquors 

 stored in warehouse to which a stamp had been 

 affixed shall be assessed and collected in the man- 

 ner now provided by law for the collection of taxes 

 not paid by stamps. 



"SPECIAL TAXES. 



"SEC. 2. That from and after July first, eighteen 

 hundred and ninety-eight, special taxes shall be, 



and hereby are, imposed annually as follows; that 

 is to say : 



"One. Bankers using or employing a capital not 

 exceeding the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars 

 shall pay fifty dollars; when using or employing a 

 capital exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, for 

 every additional thousand dollars in excess of 

 twenty-five thousand dollars, two dollars, and in 

 estimating capital surplus shall be included. The 

 amount of such annual tax shall in all cases be 

 computed on the basis of the capital and surplus 

 for the preceding fiscal year. Every person, firm, 

 or company, and every incorporated or other bank, 

 having a place of business where credits are opened 

 by the deposit or collection of monev or currency, 

 subject to be paid or remitted upon draft, check, or 

 order, or where money is advanced or loaned on 

 stocks, bonds, bullion, bills of exchange, or promis- 

 sory notes, or where stocks, bonds, bullion, bills of 

 exchange, or promissory notes are received for dis- 

 count or sale, shall be a banker under this act : 

 Provided, That any savings bank having no capital 

 stock, and whose business is confined to receiving 

 deposits and loaning or investing the same for the 

 benefit of its depositors, and which does no other 

 business of banking, shall not be subject to this 

 tax. 



"Two. Brokers shall pay fifty dollars. Every 

 person, firm, or company, whose business it is to 

 negotiate purchases or sales of stocks, bonds, ex- 

 change, bullion, coined money, bank notes, promis- 

 sory notes, or other securities for themselves or 

 others, shall be regarded as a broker : Provided, 

 That any person having paid the special tax as a 

 banker shall not be required to pay the special tax 

 as a broker. 



" Three. Pawnbrokers shall pay twenty dollars. 

 Every person, firm, or company whose business or 

 occupation it is to take or receive, by way of pledge, 

 pawn, or exchange, any goods, wares, or merchan- 

 dise, or any kind of personal property whatever, as 

 security for the repayment of money loaned there- 

 on, shall be deemed a pawnbroker. 



" Four. Commercial brokers shall pay twenty dol- 

 lars. Every person, firm, or company, whose busi- 

 ness it is as a broker to negotiate sales or purchases 

 of goods, wares, produce, or merchandise, or to 

 negotiate freights and other business for the owners 

 of vessels, or for the shippers or consignors or 

 consignees of freight carried by vessels, shall be 

 regarded as a commercial broker under this act. 



" Five. Customhouse brokers shall pay ten dol- 

 lars. Every person, firm, or company whose occu- 

 pation it is, as the agent of others, to arrange entries 

 and other customhouse papers, or transact business 

 at any port of entry relating to the importation or 

 exportation of gcods, wares, or merchandise, shall 

 be regarded as a customhouse broker. 



" Six. Proprietors of theaters, museums, and con- 

 cert halls in cities having more than twenty-five 

 thousand population, as shown by the last preced- 

 ing United States census, shall pay one hundred 

 dollars. ' Every edifice used for the purpose of dra- 

 matic or operatic or other representations, plays, 

 or performances, for admission to which entrance 

 money is received, not including halls rented or 

 used occasionally for concerts or theatrical repre- 

 sentations, shall be regarded as a theater : Provided, 

 That whenever any such edifice is under lease at 

 the passage of this act, the tax shall be paid by 

 the lessee, unless otherwise stipulated between the 

 parties to said lease. 



" Seven. The proprietor or proprietors of circuses 

 shall pay one hundred dollars. Every building, 

 space, tent, or area where feats of horsemanship or 

 acrobatic sports or theatrical performances are ex- 

 hibited shall be regarded as a circus: Provided, 



